Reasons not to implement a corporate recruitment system - job specs

I was with a client yesterday who reminded me of the most ridiculous reason I've ever heard for NOT implementing a system...

The need:

• Professional services firm
• Approx. 100 jobs per year
• Entirely recruitment agency driven
• Jobs not advertised on company website
• Average basic salary £75,000
• Average agency fee: 25%

I was having a meeting with the client about a grad system we'd implemented, and recommended to them that they should use our experienced hire system with the agency management system. "Great idea" she said, can I come back and give them a presentation in a few weeks. "No problem" - I said...

So, I called up later that day to set the meeting up and was told that after some discussion with the recruitment admins they no longer wanted to go ahead with the meeting. I asked for a reason, the conversation went something like:

HRD: "We don't want your system because it would mean that we'd have to write job specs."

MM: "Oh, I see. It's probably worth writing them though isn't it?"

HRD: "We don't write job specs."

MM: "Yes, but the ROI is very compelling?"

HRD: "We don't want to write job specs."

MM: "I can find you an agency to write the job specs for you"

HRD: "We don't want to lose control of the process"

(etc, etc)

So, they spend almost £2M per year on recruitment agency fees, some of which we could have saved them with very basic technology, and they wouldn't even have a meeting to discuss.

Honestly...

- Mike